When Pigs Fly
by EvilFuzzy9
Summary: If there is one thing to be learned from the life and legacy of Toph Bei Fong, it is that nothing is impossible for the truly obstinate. A tale of Tokka in a sorta twenty truths-like format.
1. Chapter 1

**When Pigs Fly**

An ATLA x LOK-ish kinda crossover sorta twenty truths-like thing

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

I

The best day of Toph's life was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the day her daughter was born. The delivery was hell, of course, as were, honestly, the months leading up to it.

The sore joints, morning sickness, and strange cravings (she'd actually asked her husband to cook her _stewed sea prunes!_) were all bad, but the worst part of it had been how everyone had _fussed_ over her and treated her like everything she had _never wanted to be_. When she felt them look at her, with her so-called "pregnant glow" and her swollen belly, she could tell that they didn't see the mean, nasty, tough-as-nails Chief Bei Fong, or the legendary earthbender and war hero _Toph_.

No, they saw a vulnerable, blind, pregnant young woman. Even if they never said it, she could_ tell_ just from the way they acted around her.

Her knucklehead husband was the worst of the lot, of course, never letting her do anything more strenuous than walking to the bathroom without a fight. He refused to see that she could handle herself _just fine thank you very much_ and insisted on doing _everything _for her. She didn't mind the pampering at first (and the sex in those first couple of months was some of the best they'd had since their honeymoon), but as the weeks turned to months and the weight in her belly slowly grew bigger and heavier, it began to seriously grate on her nerves. By the time her water finally broke, she swore she would _strangle_ the idiot if he didn't give her some space to **breathe**.

(Though that still didn't mean she wasn't glad when he put her hand in his as she began the most hellish two and a half hours of her life.)

And yet, when it was all over and she felt Katara place the small, vulnerable, living, breathing _human being_ in her arms for her to realize with a start that this was _her daughter_, that she was a _mother_, she was prouder than she had ever been in her entire life. Prouder than when she won the Earth Rumble for the first time, prouder than when she invented metalbending, and even prouder than when the Lily Livers finally stood up for themselves against those little Firebending Academy brats and _vindicated_ her as a teacher.

"She's beautiful," Toph heard her husband whisper. She could feel the trembling of his hands and the smile on his face, and she could hear in the tone of his voice that at that moment he felt every bit as proud as she did.

"Yeah..." she said, mirroring his tone. "I think she looks just like you."

And Sokka laughed.

* * *

II

Toph would never know it, but she was not born blind.

As a newborn, her eyes had not been the clouded, misty, unseeing pale jade her friends would see later on whenever they looked at her – no, they were a deep, rich, clear forest green. In fact, apart from being born a week and a half early and a quarter pound underweight, Toph was perfectly healthy.

For the first year of her life, Toph could see just as well as any other infant. Of course, she was every bit as lively and vocal as she would ever be. She loved to crawl all around the house, exploring every nook and cranny, much to the amusement of Lao and Poppy Bei Fong, who took their daughter's adventurous nature in stride. They loved her dearly, and were so proud of her. Back then, they could still see how strong and full of life their daughter was.

But with all the suddenness of a lightning bolt, everything changed a month after Toph's first birthday. In the middle of the night, Lao and his wife were awoken from their slumber by a frantic young servant girl. Toph was sick, the girl told them. She had a fever, a high one.

When the young parents came to their daughter's bedroom, they saw her lying motionless in her cradle. Poppy put a hand to her daughter's forehead, and felt that the girl was burning up. And even though Toph's eyes were open, she did not respond to the touch. She was not moving at all.

In a panic, Lao ordered his servants to bring him the best healers in Gaoling as he and his wife stood helplessly over their daughter and watched and waited and prayed. For three sleepless days and nights Lao and Poppy stood fearful vigil over their daughter while numerous healers and leeches did everything in their power to keep young Toph Bei Fong alive. The two did not eat or sleep even once while their daughter was still in the clutches of illness. By the end of the third night they were ghastly and haggard and noticeably paler.

But on the fourth sunrise since Toph fell ill, good news came at last: the fever had subsided, and their daughter was alive. But the joy of the occasion was marred, for the illness had not departed without taking its toll, without exacting a considerable price on their daughter.

The one year old's body had been ravaged by the disease. Toph's constitution was much frailer than it had been, and her eyes, once a window into her seemingly limitless vitality, now seemed to Lao and Poppy like those of a ghost: dead and unseeing, hidden behind a veil of cold mist.

The sight of their baby lying there, so weak and fragile and helpless, stayed with Lao and Poppy for the rest of their natural lives. And though with time Toph's body eventually recovered from the ravages of illness, she _never_ regained the use of her eyes.

* * *

III

The first time Toph tried to run away from home, she barely made it ten steps out the door before she was spotted by one of her minders. The second time she didn't even get half as far. The third time she made it farther than the first, but only by a few paces.

It wasn't until her seventh escape attempt that Toph finally managed to give her minders the slip and make it into town. She wandered Gaoling aimlessly, taking in the sounds and the smells of the bustling marketplace.

She was amazed. It was nothing like back on the estate, where the only people around were servants who went quietly to and fro, never doing anything to make their presence known, never speaking unless spoken to.

But here it was different. Everything was so loud, so _alive._ The confused chatter of dozens of different conversations drifted in and out of her ears, everyone speaking with a different voice, a different opinion. The air itself seemed to thrum with a hundred different voices, each one proclaiming its individuality, its uniqueness. Never before had Toph imagined that a place could be so noisy, or so crowded. Here, nobody knew her as Mistress Toph, daughter of Lao and Poppy Bei Fong.

Here, she was just another face in the crowd. Even the finery of her garb did little to distinguish her from any other wealthy merchant's daughter as the throng flowed this way and that in countless continually shifting eddies and currents, swirling around her like water swirled around a rock in a stream. She was anonymous, just another passerby in the busy market.

Unbidden, she felt the impulsive desire to stand tall and shout to the sky: "_I'm here! I exist!_", to proclaim her presence to the world. She was tired of being Mommy and Daddy's dirty little secret, their weak, helpless, blind _mistake_. She wasn't _daughter_. She wasn't _mistress _or _young __madame_. She was _**Toph**_. Simple as that. She was who she was, and no one could change her. She was solid as a rock.

She could practically _hear_ the earth singing beneath her feet, thrumming with life and energy as she breathed in deeply and _laughed_.

"_I'm Toph,_" she whispered to the air, feeling the fragrant breeze tickle her cheeks as it passed over her head and tousled her hair.

That was her first real taste of freedom. Her first taste of independence. And even when the servants finally found her and dragged her back to the estate, they could not take that away from her.

* * *

IV

The day Toph first met the badger-moles, she had run away from home again after getting into another argument with her mother. She never did remember what the argument had been about, except that it had been stupid and pointless and she had _just wanted to get away_.

So she ran. She ran as far as she could, tears running down her face as she climbed over the tall, broad hedge that bordered the grounds, scraping her shins against twigs and branches. Her shoes fell uselessly from her feet as she scrabbled up and over the hedge, dropping down on the other side. She didn't care that her feet were naked. She didn't care that she didn't know where she was going. All that mattered to her then, at that moment in time, was getting away, as far away from her home as she possibly could.

So Toph ran.

She ran for what felt like hours, blindly tumbling through brush and bramble as hot, painful tears stung and pricked at he unseeing eyes. Branches snagged and tore at her clothes, but she didn't care. The hard, rocky ground pained her feet, her bare soles raw and ragged and throbbing with soreness, but she didn't care. She was angry and hurt and _she just wanted to be alone._

When Toph finally stopped running, the air felt cool around her, and she could hear her own labored, shuddering breaths echoing faintly, farther and nearer and back farther again. She could not feel the sun on her neck or shoulders, and as she leaned to one side she could feel her small, weary body press against a hard, curving wall of natural stone.

She marveled at the feel of it against her skin, cool and rough and faintly pulsing. It felt almost alive. The memory of hurt and sorrow fading as she took in her surroundings, Toph fancied she that if she perhaps listened hard enough, she could almost hear the Earth speaking to her.

For a moment, she felt somehow _aware_ of every twist and branch of the cave as it plunged deep into the heart of the land, far beneath the tread of human feet. But as soon as it came, it was gone, and once more she was lost. _Alone_.

But then she felt warm breath on her face, breath that smelt faintly of earth and petrichor and fresh garden soil, and Toph realized that perhaps she wasn't as alone as she thought.

* * *

V

Toph had actually been terrified, the first time she fought in the Earth Rumble. Not because she was afraid she would get hurt, of course.

She knew none of her prospective opponents would even be able to touch her. She could sense them duking it out in the ring one match after another, could feel every twitch of their muscles, could hear the blood rushing in their veins, and could perceive every tiny movement of the earth as it was rocked and cracked and tossed about under their half-baked bending.

As earthbenders, even the most skilled of them were only decent at best. They were all flash and posturing, with no real substance beneath. Even the reigning champion, The Boulder – apparently a former Earth Kingdom soldier who had been discharged from the army for insubordination and disorderly conduct, according to the rumors she'd heard, and probably probably one of the only genuinely good fighters in the line up – clearly cared more about bragging and putting on a show than actually _fighting_.

Toph _knew_ that not one of these people were anywhere near her skill. Not a one of them could move the earth as effortlessly, as naturally, as she could. None of them bothered to _listen_ to the ground beneath them. Not like Toph. She was the earth, and the earth was her. As immovable as a mountain, harder than bedrock.

It did not matter that she was smaller by far than any of the other competitors. The very ground beneath her feet was an extension of her body, a part of her that she could _bend_ and _move_ as effortlessly as an arm or a leg. She did not fear getting hurt, because she knew she _wouldn't_, as certainly as she knew the soles of her feet.

No, her fear was not getting injured in the contest. No, the thing she feared was that somehow her parents would find out what she was doing, and then they would never let her out of their sight again. They saw her as a helpless, fragile little girl. How badly would react if they learned she was participating in something so brutal, so barbaric, so _fun?_

Her only hope of remaining undiscovered, aside from the shabby commoner's outfit she wore as part of her persona, was that her parents would think something like this beneath them, and pay no attention to any stories of a little blind girl beating the asses of fully grown men in this year's Earth Rumble. It would doubtless help that this event was only established a few years ago. It wasn't even a blip on her parent's snooty, high society radar.

Toph told herself this to calm her nerves, before taking a deep breath and stepping out into the ring to jeers and taunting from the audience.

_"_—_and this year we have a surprising newcomer! She may be tiny, but she packs a ten ton wallop! Ladies and gentlemen, the challenger! Hailing from the island of Nunya, put your hands together fooooorrr! The Bliiiiiiiind Baaaanndiiiiiiiiit!"_

Toph smirked.

It was _showtime_.

* * *

A/N: I've been working on this for a while – since even before I got the idea for _Unexpected Aftermath_, and while I call it a twenty-truths-ish thing, it is actually currently only at fifteen. But I figured I might as well upload what I have so fare in installments of five truths per chapter.

Let me know what you guys think of it! If it gets a good enough reception, I might upload the rest or even finish it. ;)

**TTFN and R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**When Pigs Fly**

An ATLA x LOK-ish kinda crossover sorta twenty truths-like thing

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

VI

When Toph first joined the Gaang, she hadn't been sure what to think of them. They didn't seem at all as they should have, from her first impressions.

Aang, she'd thought, was a sissy girly boy who would never be a _real _earthbender. He was a pushover, a wimp. She was sure he could never possibly amount to anything with such a wishy-washy attitude.

Yet he was also the Avatar – the master of all four elements, the protector of the natural balance – and there were times when that side of his personality showed through. Moments when, without even realizing it, he would shift into some strange, obscure stance while training, as though falling back on old habits and instincts ingrained by a lifetime of practice – a lifetime other than _his_.

And Katara. Oh, _Katara_. The waterbender was such a _girl_, and she got on Toph's nerves like nothing else. She was always nagging her to help out with camp and be nice to Aang and_ take a bath_ once in a while. Naturally, Toph did not like her. She saw the Water Tribe lass as just another simpering girly girl.

And yet, when push came to shove, Katara proved herself a steadfast ally. She was like an earthbender, in her own way, unyielding in her beliefs and indomitable in hardship. The older girl was a powerful bender in her own right, formidable in battle in a way Toph had never realized water _could_ be. She was almost a paradox, so ferocious and merciless to her enemies, yet also so kind and caring to her friends.

Toph could respect that, even if she would never say as much.

Sokka, however... Now _there_ was a real enigma. Toph had no idea what to think of him. On the one hand, he could be so brash and arrogant and _stupid_, but at the same time he could also be so funny and companionable and _clever._ He was so infuriating, in that way, yet he also made her happy just by being around and acting like his goofy, dorky self.

And he _was _such a dork.

But he could also seem so strong, at times. Not as a fighter, though – the teen wasn't a bender of any sort, and even as non-benders went he wasn't anything impressive when it came to a fight. Sure, he could outwit opponents that would have otherwise reduced him to a smear on the side of the road, but that wasn't anything Toph particularly admired, really. She was an earthbender, after all. She believed in facing your foes head on and beating them into the dust with sheer superior strength and skill.

No, despite Sokka's insistence to the contrary, Toph simply could not see him as a warrior. He just wasn't strong, not in that way. But he _was _strong in other ways – morally, mentally, emotionally. Even when faced with people as scary as that crazy Azula bitch and her minions, people who could nearly outclass even Toph and Aang and Katara, he would not hesitate to jump into the fray.

Toph knew he wasn't fearless: she could sense his heart rate, she could tell how badly he freaked out whenever things started going bad. Yet, while Sokka would not hesitate to express his panic over the silliest little things, when it came down to the wire and he had to grit his teeth and leap in against seemingly impossible odds, he would do so with aplomb, and sometimes he would even manage to pull out ahead against all odds.

And in that sense, maybe Toph saw a bit of herself in Sokka. Like her, he lacked something that most everyone around him possessed, yet he refused to let himself be counted out just because of that. And much like she had learned to use earthbending as a replacement for sight, Sokka substituted bending with pure guts and resourcefulness.

That was probably a big part of what she liked about him.

* * *

VII

Toph couldn't say when her crush on Sokka first began to develop. It wasn't as though there was a definite, specific point where just she woke up one day and said to herself: "_I think I'm in love with Snoozles._" It just didn't happen all at once.

It was gradual, like waves smoothing the edges of a rough stone on the beach. It was not one big event that did it, but hundreds of little moments – insignificant by themselves – adding up over days and weeks, washing away at the sharp, hard edges of her heart until it was smooth and round and _perfectly his_. Little gestures he probably thought of as meaningless.

Things like helping her get on and off Appa – not doing the work for her and carrying her like a helpless child, but giving her his hand and letting her pull herself up – and things like laughing at her stupid, crude jokes or making her laugh with his own equally crass sense of humor. He wasn't afraid to argue with her one moment and joke around together the next. He treated her as an equal, as a partner in crime and comrade in arms and little sister and best friend. And he was her sidekick and sounding board and punching bag and... well, maybe even then, something _more_.

No, she could not say when she first began to realize that her feelings for Sokka were different from her feelings for Aang or Katara.

Maybe it was when his hand brushed hers and she felt her skin jump at the contact where the day before it did nothing. Maybe it was when she began to mentally follow his footsteps whenever he wandered away from the group, and feel for his presence first thing in the morning before she did anything else. Maybe it was when she started intentionally prodding him with playful jibes and snide remarks just to feel his heart rate speed up and hear his indignant protests. Maybe it was when first started having dreams about strong, lean arms wrapping around her and holding her tight against a firm, broadening chest.

Or maybe she always knew it, and simply refused to believe it at first.

But whatever the case, however and whenever it happened, Toph knew that she could never imagine a life without that stupid, sarcastic, oblivious, brilliant, strong, charming, resourceful, funny, _warm_ meathead in it.

* * *

VIII

For a long time, the worst day of Toph's life – though she would never admit it to _anybody –_ was probably the day that Sokka and Zuko came back from their little "fishing trip" at the Boiling Rock. When she first heard the excited exclamations of Katara and Aang and the others and felt the vibrations of the small Fire Nation war balloon landing on the temple ground, she was excited and happy and half ready to tackle that oblivious Meathead to the ground and either crush him in a bear hug him or punch him in the gut.

But then she felt the other vibrations coming inside from the balloon's iron basket. The first she noticed were the footfalls of two grown men, one who walked like a firebender, bigger than Zuko but less skilled, and another who walked sorta like Sokka, except not quite because Sokka put a little more weight on his heels and didn't carry himself as confidently or powerfully.

She couldn't place the former as anybody she knew, but the latter was one she recognized from the week after the fall of Ba Sing Se and the invasion on the Day of Black Sun. He walked like a graceful and powerful beast of prey, like a seasoned leader and commander ready to snap out orders to his men at a moment's notice, the way she liked to imagine Sokka might one day carry himself. Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka and Katara's father, who had stayed behind with the other men when the eclipse ended and the tide of the battle turned against them.

But that was when Toph noticed _her._ Suki, of the Kyoshi Warriors. The tall, graceful, brave, strong, _pretty_ (if the way Sokka tripped over his feet to please her was any indication) _Suki_.

Suki, who made her feel like an awkward, bumbling child. Suki, who had stolen Sokka's heart before Toph had even met him. Suki, who was able to make Sokka act like a lovesick fool with just a few choice words.

Suki, who was apparently everything Sokka wanted. Who was almost everything Toph was _not_.

Suki, who had won the battle before Toph was even a participant.

And then, she only wished that Sokka and Zuko really _had_ gone fishing.

* * *

IX

The last time Suki broke up with Sokka, Toph had been hopeful. It was a bit more than a year after the war, and a few days after the (_kinda sorta_) Battle of Yu Dao. They'd been fighting on and off all of that day and the previous night, arguing about Suki's decision to return to the Fire Nation with Zuko. Apparently the Fangirls – as Toph had taken to mentally calling the Kyoshi Warriors – had been contracted to guard the Fire Lord, and Suki had every intention of fulfilling the terms of her contract _to the letter_, even if it meant leaving right after she had been reunited with her boyfriend.

Sokka had not been happy with this. He had protested that _surely_ Suki could stay for a few more days. After all, they hadn't seen each other in almost a year, he had argued, and surely even _Zuko_ would understand her taking a day or two off to spend some time with her boyfriend. But Suki was adamant, and insisted that she would leave when the Fire Lord did, and no later.

Sokka had lost his temper at this, and soon things had degenerated into an all out shouting match between the two. Hurtful things were said on both sides, sharp words that wounded their recipients worse than any sword stroke. Sokka accused Suki of cheating on him with Zuko – and from the way Suki's heartbeat flipped and flopped at this, Toph had a hopeful feeling that maybe he was not entirely off the mark – and Suki had heatedly, impulsively snapped back that _maybe if Sokka was a more attentive lover_, and then things just quickly went downhill from there.

When Suki left on the boat to the Fire Nation, Sokka was not there to say goodbye.

* * *

X

Toph was there when the news came three months later. She and Sokka had been in the middle of planning a new training exercise for the Lily Livers when the young swordsman was approached by Ty Lee.

The girl was the traditional battledress of the Kyoshi Warriors – Toph could tell as much from her earth-sense, but Sokka could see the clues that Toph could not. He saw that there was no makeup on Ty Lee's face. Her eyes were downcast, and there seemed to be a bit of light missing from them. Her stance spoke nothing of the cheerful, bubbly, energetic young woman they had fought against as an enemy, and more recently alongside as an ally. And when she spoke, her words were even and measured, her tone sad and grim.

Suki was dead, she told them. She had died stopping an attempt on Fire Lord Zuko's life.

Toph could feel Sokka's heart stop at these words. She could almost smell the tears that were likely beginning to well up in his eyes as his world fell to pieces around him. Toph could sense the trembling of her friend's frame, and hear the choked back sobs, and feel the heaving and roiling and twisting in his gut as the horrible, awful, dreadful realization sank in and took root in his conscience. She could tell, with a feeling of profound sadness, that his heart was breaking. She knew the story of his relationship with Yue, and how it had ended, and she knew that Sokka had still not completely healed from that heartbreak.

And now _Suki_ was gone. Not even turned into a spirit, but truly _gone_. She was **dead**, and Toph could all but hear the sound of tinkling china as Sokka's heart _shattered_ into a hundred, thousand pieces. She could not help but wonder if he would ever be able to pick them back up. She could not help but feel guilty for ever wishing Suki ill, for ever resenting the older girl for all the attention she got from Sokka.

Tears stinging her useless eyes, her throat constricting and her breath becoming labored, Toph felt like the worst friend in the world. Sokka had loved Suki, and all she been able to think about was how he should have loved _her_. And now his love was _dead_, and his heart was breaking and he was drowning in grief over all the hurtful things said and the good things left unsaid, and all Toph could think about was how she had him all to herself now.

Katara had been right, she thought with a sob, even as Sokka collapsed to his knees, in tears, beside her. She was just a spoiled, selfish little child. She only ever cared about herself and what she wanted, and look what that brought her: the man she loved was at the lowest she had even "seen" him, and she couldn't even bring herself to comfort him, too wrapped up in her own guilt. She was disgusted with herself.

Then and there, Toph swore to herself that she would change: she would become the strong, selfless, caring woman that Sokka needed and deserved. Even if she could never be with him, she would do everything in her power to make sure that she never again felt him so helpless and lost. This she swore silently in her heart, as she knelt down and wrapped her arms around Sokka to support him as he wept.

This she swore.

_she would be his rock_

* * *

A/N: Well, the last chapter seemed to have been pretty well received, so here are the next five. This installment is considerably more shippy than the previous, but then that _was_ kinda the idea. Interestingly enough, Truth VIII was actually the very second one I wrote, after Truth I, but then I decided that I wanted to do them in a sorta chronological order (the very first one aside), and so it wound up getting pushed all the way up to where it is now.

Also, yes, I killed off Suki in this one. Not out of dislike, mind you, but just because it seemed the most tasteful way to set up a post-series Tokka. And I feel the need to reiterate the point that most of these first ten truths were written _before_ I started UA, so... yeah.

**TTFN and R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**When Pigs Fly**

An ATLA x LOK-ish kinda crossover sorta twenty truths-like thing

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

XI

Sokka was still torn up over Suki's death when he decided to return home with Katara. He was really in a bad sort, and Toph knew that he would need the support of his family to get through it.

She also knew that he would need _her_ support. She had sworn to herself that she would be there for him, and she had no intentions of breaking that oath. She would help him get through this, even if it meant following him to the South Pole, where she would be just as blind and helpless as her parents had always believed her to be.

Yet this thought did not dismay her nearly as much as she would have expected. Even though she knew that she would be leaving so much behind, she did not once dread the thought going through with this. Even if she would effectively be without bending OR "sight" in the South Pole, when Toph thought about staying behind, about _abandoning_ Sokka, her gut would twist and wrench miserably.

The thought of going back on her unspoken oath, of letting Sokka leave without her, of not being there for him, was more than she could stand. She refused to let him go through this without her. Even if it meant rendering herself all but helpless, she would follow him to the ends of the earth.

She would support him no matter what. She would be there for him. She would give up everything for him, because she knew from experience that he would do the same for her in a heartbeat. The two of them had been through so much together, done so much for one another, that going with him to the South Pole seemed only natural. It was not, to her, a preposterous notion that she went through with on a whim – it was simply a logical progression of years of growth and support and camaraderie between both parties.

Toph would do anything for Sokka. She would have done anything for him. Even if it had meant letting him marry Suki, letting him leave her without ever telling him her feelings.

Her feelings.

She loved him – she really did. She just wanted him to be happy. She didn't want to see him so miserable. Suki wasn't there for him any more. Toph had been willing to let the girl care for Sokka, love Sokka, but Suki was gone. Dead.

Toph would have to do all of that for Suki, now, just as she once would have let Suki do all of it for her. Except that this was not something she did out of obligation.

It was just because she loved him.

And that, perhaps, was the moment Toph finally realized that her that little girlhood crush had grown into something much, much more.

She loved him. She really did.

* * *

XII

Toph was not the sort to break her promises. If she said she was going to move a mountain, then by Oma and Shu she would _move_ that mountain. And if she swore that she would support Sokka, then by gum she _would_ support him, come Hell or high water.

And if keeping that promise meant dropping everything in Yu Dao and going with Sokka to the absolute _last_ place in the world that she would have ever wanted to visit, well then she _would_.

And she _did_.

Of course, she had been a little reluctant to leave the Bei Fong Metalbending Academy – her pride and joy – in the care of the Lily Livers, but then Penga had simply given Toph a knowing smile and handed her a pair of custom-tailored, rock-soled snow boots while Ho Tun wished her luck and told her to watch out for anything doomy and the Dark One waxed poetic (poorly) on the nature of true love and undying devotion. Then all three had said, "Farewell, Sifu Toph. Until we meet again," and bowed in unison – a routine they had clearly practiced to perfection.

After that, Toph found that she had considerably fewer reservations with leaving the three behind. They really had matured over the time she had taught them. She had taught them well.

Until that day, Toph had never felt so proud.

And it would be a long time before she ever felt prouder.

* * *

XIII

The months Toph spent with Sokka and Katara and the rest of their family in the South Pole were, paradoxically, some of the best days of her life. Despite being all but completely removed from her native element, and as blind as she had ever been in all her years, she did not once feel like a burden. She did not once feel _helpless_.

The people of the tribe happily welcomed Toph, treating her as warmly as they would their own kin. They gladly accommodated her, doing what they could to help her feel at home in the frozen, icy tundra. They helped her wherever they could, but not once did it feel like coddling, not once did it feel like they were doing so out of pity or obligation.

It was a strange experience for Toph, but not an unpleasant one. The tribesmen and women spoke frankly of her blindness, but there was neither scorn nor sympathy in their tones. They simply spoke of it as something that just _was_, saying it like they might say that the sky was blue, or snow was white.

Kanna especially – Sokka and Katara's grandmother – treated Toph as just another member of the family. She did not exempt the girl from helping out just because she was blind, and for this the earthbender was silently grateful.

Toph learned much from Kanna during her time in the Southern Water Tribe. The old woman taught her how to sew and cook even without sight (snow blindness was apparently not an uncommon affliction in the Antarctic desert, and most of the women in the tribe learned how to do these things blind simply as a matter of course), and she treated the young Bei Fong like she would any other member of the family.

Of course, Toph spent as much of her time with Sokka as she could, doing her part to cheer him up whenever he started to get too down. And if she got particularly cozy with the young man, curling up against him and snuggling into his warm body... well, nobody deigned to comment on it.

* * *

XIV

It was slow, at first, but after the first couple of months Toph began to notice that Sokka was starting to finally get back to his normal self. The loss of Suki had hit him really hard, especially considering on what bad terms the pair had parted, but the time spent with friends and family (Aang stopping by as often as possible, as much for Katara as for Sokka) had really helped him recover from his slump.

Or so she had initially assumed.

"I don't get it, Gran-Gran... Even after all of this time, Sokka's still so depressed," Toph overheard Katara saying one day. It was late at night, and the earthbender was curled up in her blankets, but she hadn't quite fallen asleep when she heard them start to talk.

"He has always been a sensitive boy," Toph heard Kanna softly reply. "Give him time, Katara. The loss of Suki has deeply aggrieved him."

"I suppose..." Katara reluctantly agreed. "But still, doesn't it seem a little strange? The only time he seems like his old self is when he's with Toph..."

Toph could _hear_ the smile in Kanna's voice as the elderly woman replied, "Is this really so unusual? Perhaps you cannot see it because you are young, but to these old eyes the reason is obvious."

Toph's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, and she listened more intently, almost afraid to hope.

"The two of them are close," Kanna continued. "Very much so. They care deeply for one another. They make each other happy, Katara. You should understand that better than anyone."

Toph heard Katara splutter anxiously, and she could easily imagine the warmth that must have been spreading through the older girl's cheeks.

"Ah... Do you really think it's like that?" Katara murmured. "It seems... somehow hard to believe. I mean, they certainly don't act like it... but..."

The young woman let out a soft cough, audibly clearing her throat.

"...Toph and Sokka, huh?" said Katara in a thoughtful tone. "I never would have thought... I mean, maybe her, but... Sokka too?"

"Love is blind," Kanna replied simply, sagely.

Toph was _certain_ the old woman noticed the blush that formed on her cheeks even as she continued pretending to sleep.

* * *

XV

After that, Toph began paying more attention to the way Sokka behaved around her. Despite Kanna's words, she was still surprised to realize how _fondly_ he caressed her hair when she curled up against him, or how _warmly_ he spoke to her when he told her about his day. It still amazed her to realize how readily he cuddled up with her in the cold of night, and how loudly his heart beat whenever she brushed a hand against his.

It made her feel giddy to realize that Sokka had begun initiating more of their conversations, where before she would have had to force him into talking, and her heart sang whenever the two of them were alone together. He talked to her now with a similar fondness and affection in his tone to how he would have talked to Suki in the past.

She was happy, realizing that perhaps her feelings for him were not as one-sided as she had once thought. But she was also anxious, fearful of doing anything that might damage this new found intimacy, yet at the same time also wary of falling too much into a rut.

A part of her began to dearly wish to confess to him, but she kept telling herself that it wasn't time, that it was still too soon. She was in no small degree happy just with this much, content to just chat with Sokka and joke around and snuggle up together on colder days. She worried that telling him how she felt would destroy what they had, would scare him off and ruin her chances of ever being with him.

Toph knew that this was at least somewhat irrational, but she did not care. The time wasn't right, she would continue to insist to herself. Even as weeks turned to months, she did not say anything to him.

It wasn't until Sokka presented her with a curious necklace one day, after several months of time together in the South Pole, that Toph finally had the courage to confess. But by then it was too late.

He beat her to it.

And as she heard Sokka kneel down on the snow with a crunch, in full view of the tribe, and ask her if she would do him the honor of maybe someday possibly being his wife if it wasn't too much to ask and he wasn't being too forward and she didn't hate his guts now and—

Toph silenced him with a kiss. It was clumsy and poorly aimed, and she wound up bonking their noses together, but the intent of the gesture was clear, and Sokka immediately shut up and let her do it.

"_Yes,_" she said simply, after finally pulling away from the clumsiest, wettest, awkwardest, most _wonderful_ experience of her young life with a big, bright, ear-to-ear grin on her face.

* * *

A/N: Here's the third – and most likely penultimate – installment of _When Pigs Fly_. It's shorter than either of the earlier ones, but I like it for what it's worth. Also, I've actually got a couple truths already written for the final installment, and I'm liking how they're turning out so far.

Also, I suppose I might as well mention that I have a poll regarding Sokka pairings in my profile – been something like two years, give or take, since I put a new poll up, so I figured what the hey. XD


	4. Chapter 4

**When Pigs Fly**

An ATLA x LOK-ish kinda crossover sorta twenty truths-like thing

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

XVI

The wedding, half a year later, was a simple, modest affair. Neither Toph nor Sokka particularly wanted to make a big deal of it – well, Toph did, but she had acquiesced to his desire for a small, traditional Water Tribe ceremony on the grounds that anything too big would probably attract the attention of... more _undesirable_ elements. Disreputable folk like nobles and courtiers.

So they got married according to Water Tribe custom, in a small ceremony presided over by, of all people, Hu from the Foggy Swamp Tribe. They exchanged first vows, then rings, and then finally a kiss before the wise man and their witnesses – the chiefs of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, Arnook and Hakoda, as well as King Bumi. After that, the couple left the igloo and presented themselves to their gathered family and friends as Husband and Wife.

Aang was grinning from ear to ear while happily congratulating Sokka and Toph on getting together, Katara was crying – though she insisted that there was just something in her eyes, Gran-Gran and Pakku were smiling serenely, and Bato was hooting cheerfully at the newlyweds. Ty Lee and a few other Kyoshi Warriors were also there, as well as Teo and Haru and the Mechanist, what remained of the Freedom Fighters, a few former Earth Rumble contestants, a few White Lotus members including Piandao and Iroh, and even the Fire Lord and his own wife.

All wished the young couple well, and Sokka and Toph gladly drank in the attention. Some of the rowdier attendants, led by Bato and the Boulder, egged the pair on to kiss, and they whooped and cheered when Toph pulled Sokka down by his collar and mashed her lips passionately against his.

There were many well-wishes and congratulations and cries of "I _knew_ it was only a matter of time!" as everybody took their turn with the couple. Hands were shaken, backs were clapped, and no few pieces of advice were dispensed by everyone and their grandmother.

Eventually, the newlyweds had gone through most of the well-wishers, when they saw something that shocked them. Sitting in the back of the crowd, tears glistening in their eyes, were Toph's parents, Lao and Poppy Bei Fong.

Somewhat reluctantly, Sokka and Toph went over to them. And then Toph found herself enveloped in platypus-bear hug from her mother while Sokka's hand was firmly clasped and shaken by the hand of his bride's father.

"We're _so proud _of you, dear," breathed Poppy as she held her daughter tight to her bosom, tears streaming from her eyes. "We love you _so much._"

"You're a good man, Sokka," Lao said at the same time, looking Sokka in the eye as he shook the young man's hand. "I can see it in your eyes. I trust you to take care of our daughter. Don't let us down."

Toph and Sokka began to cry.

They were tears of joy.

* * *

XVII

A month after their wedding, Sokka and Toph moved back to Yu Dao. The tribe had been sad to see them go, not the least of which was because there had been talk of Sokka taking his father's place as Chief now that the young man had taken a wife of his own, but Sokka knew that Toph was beginning to yearn for solid earth once more. And he could never force her to stay in the South Pole with him.

Furthermore, he had his own duties outside the tribe. Aang and Zuko and Katara had been busy drawing up the plans for the foundation of a new nation, and he knew they would need his help. He was the idea guy, after all.

So he had left, hugging his father and Gran-Gran and Gramp-Gramp (the man still did not like being called that, but he indulged his grandson for this once) goodbye, and giving Bato and other warriors a punch in the arm and a sharp salute, respectively. Then he and Toph boarded the next boat out of the South Pole, and they made their way to Yu Dao.

It was not a short journey, but when they finally reached the former Fire Nation colony, Toph and Sokka disembarked, carrying the sum total of their worldly possessions on their backs. Aang and Katara and the Lily Livers were there to greet them, and they all gave the pair a warm welcome back to the bustling, growing city.

Penga had shot up like a weed in the year they had been gone, and even begun blossoming into the early stages of womanhood. Ho Tun, in contrast, hadn't changed a bit on the outside, unless perhaps his bulk had become more muscle than fat. He was hand in hand with Penga, though, and Sokka guffawed when he realized that his former self-proclaimed "girlfriend" was now an item with the big softy. The Dark One, of course, was surrounded by admiring young women as he spouted off poetry that was perhaps not _quite_ as awful or incomprehensible as before.

The Bei Fong Metalbending Academy had done surprisingly well in Toph's absence, the Lily Livers told them. Most of earthbenders in Yu Dao's police force – which had been steadily expanding in order to deal with the steady influx of immigrants seeking work and hooligans seeking trouble – had enrolled there, and Penga, Ho Tun, and the Dark One had learned a lot from teaching them.

Penga even suggested that the three of them had finally surpassed their own teacher as metal benders. Toph quickly put paid to this notion, though, showing that her skills hadn't rusted in the slightest by effortlessly knocking around all three of her students at once.

Aang and Katara just laughed and shook their heads in amusement at the sight.

* * *

XVIII

Time passed, and Sokka and Toph began settling into life in Yu Dao. Things were much busier and more hectic than they had been in the South Pole – both war heroes were in high demand among the city's leaders and protectors, and they both had plenty of work to do.

Toph had many students, now, including most of the earthbenders in Yu Dao's police force, and even with the Lily Livers helping out with the classes Toph spent much of her time at the Metalbending Academy. Sokka, in turn, had been helping out with the city council and government, doing everything from running simple errands to helping rewrite policy. They were both very busy, and they got little time to themselves.

But what free time they _did_ get, they invariably spent with one another. Whether hanging around and goofing off, going out on the town on dates, or just staying in and keeping each other warm, they stayed in one another's company as much as they possibly could. And in those early years of their relationship, they were quite happy just spending time together, wrapped in each other's arms.

Time passed, however. Sokka, now tall and broad shouldered, his face harder and more angular, eventually rose from being just an adviser and gofer to become a respected member of the council himself – a representative of the Southern Water Tribe. He had grown from an awkward, lanky goof to a strong, charismatic leader, and his raw cunning and resourcefulness had been honed into one of the most formidable minds in the world. He navigated the murky, cutthroat world of politics with all the ease and grace of a master strategist in the field of battle, somehow managing through sheer wit and gall to come out on top of the heap time and again.

And Toph, for her part, was a high-ranking member of Yu Dao's police force now. She had been offered a position as a captain of the recently formed Metalbender Squadron, seeing as how she was undeniably the best of the best in that regard, and she'd gladly accepted. The Lily Livers took over the day to day operation of the academy – though Toph still dropped in, every once in a while, to knock some heads whenever students started getting too cocky – letting her focus her attention on police work. Through pure talent and force of personality, she quickly shot up through the ranks of the police force. She attained the position of police chief within a month, by sheer virtue of just being so damn good at what she did.

Yes, Toph and Sokka had both found their place in the world, in Yu Dao. Only now, people had taken to calling the former colony "Republic City", the capital of the United Republic of Nations. And they were its guardians, its leaders, its _heroes_.

* * *

XIX

When Katara announced her second pregnancy to her friends and family during a gathering in the Fire Nation capital, her firstborn infant Kya sitting on her lap, everyone was happy for her and Aang. They gave the young parents congratulations, they wished them luck, they laughed and cheered and clapped with them. Everyone was happy for them, excited at the news of the new addition to the family.

Everyone was happy for them, everyone cheered – everyone, that is, except for Chief Bei Fong.

"Hey, babe," Toph heard her husband say, feeling him take a seat next to her. He leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek, his small goatee tickling her skin.

"Hey, Snoozles," Toph replied, turning her face to meet his lips with hers, giving the councilman a big, wet smooch. "Having fun?" she asked him.

"I am now," he replied, a suggestive huskiness to his voice as he brushed his thigh against hers, briefly deepening the kiss, caressing the small of her back, before pulling back and growling playfully.

Toph snorted in a most unladylike manner.

"You're hopeless," she said, but there was a tiny smirk playing across her lips.

Sokka chortled, wrapping an arm around the Chief of Police.

"I can't help it," he told her. "It's not my fault I have such a sexy wife who's so good at turning me on."

Toph's smirk became wider, more visible.

"Oh, _am I?_" she inquired in a lilting tone.

"You are," he told her, one hundred percent sincere as he gave her another short kiss. "You _really_ are."

Toph grinned, and she scooted closer to her husband, sidling her seat up until she was sitting half in his lap. One of her thighs pressed into his groin, eliciting an appreciative groan from the man. She gave him another kiss, this one the deepest and hottest yet. There was more than a little tongue as she swapped spit with him for a minute or two before finally pulling back, if only to smirk at him.

"What do you say we go somewhere private," she purred huskily, opaque jade eyes staring sightlessly into his deep ocean blues (not that the colors meant anything to Toph), "and see if we can't make a little surprise of our own?"

She placed a hand pointedly on Sokka's inner thigh, noting with some satisfaction the reaction this elicited from his body.

He laughed, sliding his hand down to the curve of her posterior.

"I say, what are we waiting for?" he replied wolfishly, before taking his wife's hand and sneaking off with her to have some fun of their own.

* * *

XX

When Toph learned that she was pregnant, the first thing she did was track down her husband. The fact that he was in the middle of a very important council meeting to discuss the recent rise in organized criminal activity in downtown Republic City did nothing to deter the blind, metalbender police chief from kicking in the door, striding up to Sokka, and all but dragging him out the room to deliver the news.

The squeal he let out when she told him was utterly, agonizingly ear-splitting – and it _was_ a squeal, regardless of any insistence he might have made to the contrary – and the way he danced up and down for joy was most undignified for a respected sword master and councilman.

Toph didn't blame him, though. Hell, the only thing keeping her from joining him in his celebration was sheer, stubborn pride.

But she was still giddy. She was _pregnant!_ They were going to have a _baby!_ Both of them were so excited that they could scarcely contain themselves from darting off to tell everyone they could find, but they somehow managed.

They wanted this to be a _surprise._

So they waited for the right time to spring the news. And that time, actually, came within just a couple of weeks.

A gala was being held in honor of Fire Lord Zuko and the aging Earth King and Water Tribe Chiefs, who had come to Republic City to sign the final draft of the peace accords. Pretty much everybody who was everybody was there – this included the absolutely _ancient_ King Bumi, who was against all odds still clinging to life with an iron grip, and still as wolf-bat shit insane as ever, even nearing his one hundred and thirty-fourth birthday. Sifu Piandao was there also, his graying hair shot with white, and his face, like something carven of living marble, was lined and wrinkled with the memories of old frowns and smiles. Even Iroh had made the trip to the capital of the United Republic, accompanying King Kuei as a respected friend and tea-maker.

Sokka greeted the senior members of the Order of the White Lotus, playing a couple friendly games of Pai Sho with the venerable, old masters as the party carried on. Toph, meanwhile, chatted with old friends and drank pomegranate punch while awaiting the right time.

Finally, an opportunity arose when Councilman Sokka was called up to the podium to speak to the assembled crowd, and he brought his wife up with him. He made a long speech, thanking everyone for coming and talking at length about why they were all here. It was a while before he finally got to the point.

"With the signing of these accords, we usher in a new era of peace for the Four Nations," he said, drawing Toph close to himself. "For much as spring follows winter, and day follows night, so too does life come after death. Time is like a wheel, constantly turning, an endless cycle of death and rebirth. The previous generation passes down their will to the next, and that generation to the ones who come after them – this is something that has happened since time immemorial, and it will continue long after we have passed. To carry on this tradition is a great honor, one I accept gladly as a man of the Water Tribe, and as a human citizen of this... amazing... _beautiful..._ world..."

Sokka trailed off, tears pricking invisibly at the corner of his eyes.

"What my husband is _trying_ to say," Toph interjected into the silence, taking the stand from Sokka, "Is that him and me—"

"—_he and I_—" Sokka corrected in a whisper.

"—_him and me,_" Toph repeatedly stubbornly, before continuing on, "are PROUD to announce a _new_ addition to _our_ _family!_"

She grinned, wrapping an arm around Sokka's shoulders and leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek, to uproarious cheers and applause from all assembled, friends and family and dignitaries and reporters and all.

Sokka laughed, returning the kiss and then hugging his wife.

"You have a real way with words, don't you?" he teased.

She punched him in the shoulder – affectionately, of course.

* * *

A/N: A-Welp, that's the end, methinks. I daresay I rather like how I framed this fic, which was my first serious attempt at anything like the twenty truths format, and from the reviews I received I guess so did you guys. I doubt I'll do any sequels to this, but I imagine it's just fine the way it is.

I hope you guys liked this, and if you did, maybe try checking out and reviewing my Toph x Sokka x Suki fic, _Unexpected Aftermath_, or maybe my Sokka and Katara sibling angst hurt/comfort oneshot, _Hurt_.

(I'm proud that I managed to finish these last few truths in time to reasonably maintain the 1:1 day to chapter update ratio on this, and I'm pretty sure this should all round out to close to 10k words.)

Anyways, this is EvilFuzzy9, saying:

**TTFN and R&R!**


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